Chapter 10: Chapter 10
The night is eerily silent while my feet carry me through the tree canopy. Nocturnal animals were hidden away causing dread to swell inside me. With how quiet it was meant the situation with the Soulless is worse than I thought. As I cross the northern border to the Blood Moon Pack territory once again for the night the signs of struggle slowly grow below me with my eyes scanning the forest floor. You could usually sniff out the foul stench of a Soulless before you see them. Carefully sniffing the air, the scent of decay and rot reach my nose causing me to become woozy. I couldn’t help but use the black scarf to cover up my mouth and nose to rid the stench as I breath in, stopping to lean on a trunk for support. I hated this stench.
Sounds of growling reach my ears indicating that I am close. I continue forward, making sure that the stench is filtered so as not to get sick off the scent of the Soulless and continue to keep my eye out for them. If I am lucky the Alpha to the Blood Moon pack would have escaped by now giving me a chance to defeat these Soulless without having to worry about him getting in the way.
Finally I spot the skinny frames of the wolves I am tracking. There are twelve Soulless fighting in a small clearing with their snarls and growls creating a chaotic symphony in the night. Black puddles of their filthy blood drip from some and the stench growing to unbearable levels. Seeing that I am the first to arrive I quickly flip off the last branch in my path and fall towards the group of wolves. I land onto a black scrawny Soulless the sickening crack of its spine breaking under my feet as its emancipated body crumbles under me. Some wolves get distracted by the sound with four pairs of red dull eyes turn to look at me. Their mouths are slightly open, yellowed fangs glistening with saliva illuminated by moonlight with frame the snarls they send my way.
"One down, eleven to go." I mumble out the prospect of a challenge causing the smirk under the scarf to grow. A wolf is sent flying past me, his fur reflecting the moon light and catching my attention as I soon come to the realization that what I thought were twelve Soulless fighting amongst each other are actually eleven Soulless fighting against one wolf. The wolf came to a stop when his body hit the trunk of a sturdy oak tree falling to the ground with a loud thud. I couldn’t take my eyes off his fur. Where my fur is like living fire, this wolf has fur like living ice. Fur made of different hues of blue, white, and gay moves gently in the wind. He was huge and well-built bigger than any wolf I have ever seen. Bigger than Leo’s wolf. He is a strong male.
My heart clenches at the thought of Leo, the pain of rejection still deep inside me. I hated knowing that I am still trapped with this pain for another two years and nine months until I could find a new mate. In my distracted form a Soulless takes the chance to tackle me, sending my body flying towards the direction of the ice wolf. The pain quickly subsides and my training kicks in my body twisting in the air and landing just in front of the injured wolf on my feet. For once I was glad of the strict training the Head Tracker of Forest Paw forced me to do. Before becoming a rogue, I was one of the top Trackers of the pack, the position of Head Tracker just in reach if I had stayed. But that would never happen now.
The wolf behind me shifts, a quick whimper escaping his lips before his eyes bore into my body. A lard snarl escapes his muzzle, and I could hear him shifting ready to attack me.
"I am here to help." My voice rings clear and I turn my body slightly to look at him. My eyes meet his ice blue stare as hesitation to back down fills his own and we stare at each other for a heartbeat before he settles back onto the ground and nods.
"How many have you killed?" I ask, nodding my head in the direction of the soulless that seem to be regrouping before us. They were closer to death than I thought they were but still as dangerous. If I wasn’t careful, I could lose my life to them. The wolf behind me starts growling again, this time in short intervals in a non-threatening way and I come to realize that he was answering my question. I star counting the growls, including the three I missed and wait for him to finish before speaking.
"Twenty-nine?” I question making sure that the number is correct. The wolf nods in response, seeing his face twitch in a wince a feeling of helplessness fills me. I hated seeing wolves injured before me especially if they were strong one. They were the protectors of their pack and were needed.
"You need to rest so leave the rest for me okay.” I don’t wait for his reply before I take out two throwing knives and eye the Soulless. They had formed a semicircle around the two of us, the filthy breath filling the air in our direction and causing the nausea in my stomach to worsen. I hated and pitied these beasts.
The first wolf I targeted is the wolf closest to me, my feet carrying me in its direction before I send a kick into his side and sent him flying towards his companion beside him. I make quick work of slicing their throats once they are down on the ground. This action seems to make the others focus on me and give the other wolf a well needed break as they turn in my direction and let out menacing growls. They were not happy that I killed two more of them. I take the time to study the last eight Soulless while dodging two hunters who focus their strength into attacking me.
One had a limp but seem to be an ex-theta - a wolf that used to be third in command of the pack - maybe an ex-beta. He would be the hardest to take out. There were two wolves that looked to be ex-trackers and the rest to be ex-hunters. The trackers would be fast in their crazed state, so I had to be faster. I change from defensive to offensive when one of the attackers lunge at me, my arm swinging out to slice at the paws with extended claws that were aimed to take my life. Black blood flows from its wounds as a howl of pain is released from the Soulless and he tumbles to the ground. His partner – a female- lets out a snarl filled with so much hate that I wince as my ears ring from the close proximity. She swipes at my midsection, causing me to drop low to the ground to dodge before aiming for her neck and slicing her jugular. Her partner whimpers as she falls to ground trying to stand up to get to me. I see sadness flicker in his soulless eyes and sympathy swells inside me before I aim and also slice into his jugular. I preferred giving them a quick and painless death.
From the corner of my eyes I catch the trackers make their move. Their bodies were small and narrow with muscles focused on their legs built for running and leaping. But behind their mangy fur you could see each and every rib from their rib cage. I grab a hand full of dirt from the ground before throwing it into their eyes and blinding them, the trackers veering off their track of attacking me and crashing into the trees. The sounds of the brittle bones to their skulls shatter on impact from how fast they were running before they fall to the ground, dead. Four down, four to go.
I was left with three hunters and the leader of their group. Each one of them eyed me wearily and I couldn’t help but let a sigh escape my lips. This was turning out to be a long night.